


Let Me Warm You Up

by undertalefa



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Badster, Cinnamon Roll Papyrus, Depressed Sans, Depression, Experimentation, Grillby's trying his best, Hurt/Comfort, Papyrus Needs A Hug, Papyrus does not remember Gaster, Sad Papyrus, Sad Sans, Sans Needs A Hug, Sans remembers Gaster, Sans-centric, Tags will be added as they come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2018-11-30 15:29:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11466396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undertalefa/pseuds/undertalefa
Summary: When two young monsters, skeletons actually, show up at Grillby's back door during the harshest snow storm so far, he of course lets them into his home. What at first seems like a simple abandonment case turns dark, leaving Grillby to learn things he didn't ever want to know about a man who didn't even exist. Sans struggles dealing with memories he'd rather forget, and Papyrus tries to help his brother overcome their childhood.Sans is falling apart.Papyrus doesn't understand.And Grillby is trying his best.don't forgetyou're not allowed to





	1. Trust is not something easily earned

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to "Let Me Warm You Up"! 
> 
> I would LOVE to keep a normal updating schedule with this, but that might not be the case. Don't worry though! I won't allow myself to go a whole month without posting a chapter! I'll try to update this every other week or so, but lately i've been pretty busy, so bare with me.
> 
> If you want... (shameless self promotion) You can check out my two other fics! I mean do what you want but if you want to waste your time reading some garbage, feel free to check them out!
> 
> Anyways, please leave comments and suggestions, or just general feedback, that would be very much appreciated! Kudos as well! Receiving Kudos or comments on my stories really motivates me to write more chapters.
> 
> Thank you so much for choosing to read this, i hope you like it!

It was cold. Far too cold for anyone to be dressed without a coat, even inside the poorly heated houses of Snowdin town. So of course, Grillby was curious when he heard shuffling sounds coming from the direction of his back door. 

Everyone in Snowdin knew how dangerous these storms could be. The snow would keep falling and falling, piling up until the only thing you could see was white. White everywhere. And if you were stuck out in a snowstorm like this one, the consequences could be… not so great.

So, anyone outside probably got caught out in the blizzard unaware. Maybe it was a tourist from the capital? They seemed to be so ignorant of the harsh conditions present in Snowdin. However, that mere reason was not enough to convince Grillby not to check on them, to make sure whoever it is is safe, and maybe even offer them a place to stay for the night if they didn’t have one.

He made his way from the kitchen, where he put down the dishes he was cleaning, and approached the back door, which led out to his trash bins. The shuffling noise was still prevalent as he made his way over, so he chanced a peek outside the foggy glass of the door. The storm made it hard to see through though, so he went to unlock and open it with a click.

Whatever was outside must have heard the sound, and the shuffling stopped. “...Hello?” Grillby called out in a raspy voice, not quite used to using it as often as he should.

He stepped outside at the lack of response, trying to look around, but the snow limited most of his visibility. For a man made of fire, you think he wouldn’t be cold, and most of the time he wasn’t, so when he felt a chill run through his body he realized just how freezing it truly was outside. Whoever it was, they didn’t seem to be a fire elemental like him, judging from the fact that only his light shone against the fresh snow. But that meant they were more susceptible to the weather, and if they weren’t showing themselves, that wasn’t good.

“Hello? Please, I’m here to help.” Grillby called out again, not expecting a response this time.

However he got one, if only in the form of one of the worst coughs he had ever heard.

Then, he heard whispers from his right, behind the trashcan. Unfortunately, the wind was howling just enough so he could not make out the words.

“Hello?” He tried once again, starting to walk towards the large trash can.

“HE SAID HE WANTED TO HELP! I’M GOING…” A voice suddenly speaks, loud enough to be heard.

Grillby takes a step back, startled as a very small skeleton makes his way out from behind the bin. He looks cold, who wouldn't be, but he’s dressed in a puffy orange jacket, and has a bright red scarf wrapped around his neck. Certainly not the best attire, a young child shouldn’t even be out in this weather, especially not alone, but he doesn’t seem like he’ll get sick if he goes inside soon.

“HELLO! I’M PAPYRUS!” He says enthusiastically, awfully chipper for someone who’s most likely freezing right now.

“Hello Papyrus, I’m Grillby.” He says, introducing himself to the young skeleton, “You should probably come inside, it’s too cold for you to be out here all alone. Where are your parents?”

“WELL…” Papyrus starts, looking more nervous than he did moments before, “WE DON’T HAVE PARENTS…”

“We…?”

“OH YES! MY BROTHER SANS! HE TAKES THE BESTEST CARE OF ME!” 

Grillby turns his attention back to the garbage can as a small whimper is heard. He is surprised to see another skeleton peeking his head out. The face of the skeleton looks tired and worn, gaunt even, though Grillby doesn’t know how a skeleton could look ‘gaunt’. And that’s what he could tell from the face.

Glancing back at Papyrus, he takes another look at the skeleton, closer this time. He seems to be more frail looking than he should be, definitely not in the best condition, but doesn’t seem as bad as the other skeleton.

“Sans, is it?” Grillby asks, turning his head back to the skeleton still hiding behind the bin.

He only looks at him for a second before turning his head away. Still visible, but not looking at Grillby.

“SANS, COME OUT! HE SAID HE WOULD LET US COME INSIDE!” Papyrus looks the elemental in the face, and asks shyly, “RIGHT?”

“Of course.” Grillby replies, almost instantly, “Please come inside, it’s much too cold for both of you to be out here.

Sans still refuses to move. “SANS, PLEASE…?” Papyrus begs, making the skeleton equivalent of puppy eyes at his brother.

Grillby is surprised when Sans eventually moves, apparently swayed by Papyrus. He tries not to flinch when the skeleton’s full body comes into view.

He's wearing a ragged t-shirt, and ratty pants. It seems as though all of the warm clothes have gone to his brother. The clothes make his small frame very visible, too small, Grillby notes, even for a young skeleton. He looks extremely malnourished, and is starting to wonder if Papyrus looks like that under his coat as well.

As Sans makes his way closer, not elegantly by any means, stumbling in the snow, Grillby notices that his clothes looked soaked. “Hello Sans!” Grillby tries to say cheerfully, but sees Sans grimace at his obviously fake tone of voice, “Do you want to come inside?”

One look at the skeleton says the answer is overwhelmingly no, but Papyrus speaks for both of them. “OF COURSE WE WOULD LIKE TO COME INSIDE! THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH.”

“You're quite welcome.” Grillby says, opening the door for both Sans and Papyrus to go inside.

They do just that, and Sans coughs once again, a cough that shakes his whole frame, as Grillby closes the door behind him.

To be frank, Grillby is honestly disgusted and sick at the thought of these kids being outside and alone. Especially in a blizzard like this. But he tries to hold his feelings back for now, as he obviously has more important matters to attend to.

“...So… How old are both of you?” He asks.

“I’M 7! AND SANS IS 11!” 

Grillby tries to hide his shock. “I'm sure you are both very hungry. Would you like something to eat?” 

Papyrus nods eagerly as Sans just stares at Grillby, not offering any response.

“I'm going to make you both something to eat, come with me.”

At this, Sans perks up, looking afraid. Grillby however doesn't notice, already turned around and heading into the kitchen. Sans briefly catches up to him, his whole demeanor changed, following exactly three steps behind Grillby. Like he was told to do.

Papyrus sees this, but doesn't call Sans out on it, knowing how he'll react if you remind him about his little ‘quirks’. Papyrus doesn't know where they came from, but it seems as if the topic is better left unsaid.

“Here, you can sit down.” Grillby says, pointing to a small table with two chairs as he turns to face the skeletons behind him.

Sans obeys quietly without a word, while Papyrus comes to sit with him as well.

“THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. GRILLBY.”

“It’s no problem.” Grillby replies, a bit taken aback by the ‘mr.’

Then, Grillby heads over to the kitchen, or the other side of the room. It’s hard to have much space for living when you're connected to the place you work as well.

Saying that Grillby is extremely concerned about these children is an understatement. From what Papyrus said, they have no parents, which is worrying in itself. But judging from their clothes, it seems like they’ve been outside for at least several days, far too long to have gone without noticing by anyone in Snowdin. 

Snowdin is a simple and small place to live. One of those ‘everybody knows everybody’ communities. And Grillby has to say, he knows almost everyone in Snowdin personally, and the fact that if they saw two small children out by themselves, they would take them in.

But the fact that Papyrus and Sans had been avoiding him when he first spoke to them… They probably would still be outside if Papyrus hadn’t been able to come out first.

Grillby sighs as he starts grabbing ingredients. He decides on pasta, a simple thing to eat, especially when you haven’t had a proper meal in a while, which these boys don’t look like they’ve had in a long time.

Putting some water in a large pot, Grillby heats up the stove with fire magic and the water boils almost instantly. As he puts the spaghetti in, he wonders what will come of the skeletons after tonight. They have no home to return to it seems, and Grillby isn't going to let them off on their own.

The timer Grillby set for the pasta goes off, and Sans flinches in his seat. It’s not that he doesn’t want to be here, doesn’t want a good meal or a warm place to stay, but… He doesn’t know who this ‘Grillby’ is. What does he want? He must want something. Maybe that’s why he’s making them food. Maybe in the morning he’s going to expect something from them. That’s what everyone does. Tricking you with nice things, only to want something in return.

Grillby hands both Sans and Papyrus a plate of spaghetti.

“THANK YOU!” Papyrus says once again.

Sans remains quiet as usual, skeptically looking at the plate in front of him. Grillby is starting to wonder if he can even speak at all. 

“w-what do you want?” Sans suddenly mumbles out, contradicting Grillby’s last thought. 

His voice is small and weak, probably worn from his cough, reminding Grillby he should probably get Sans some medicine.

“Excuse me?”

“what do you want for this? people don’t just do good things.” Sans explains, with a conviction that makes a pang of sadness shoot through his soul.

“I do not want anything from you two. Please, just eat.”

Sans looks at Grillby, unconvinced. “just... don’t hurt Papyrus… p-please…” He says softly, “i’ll do whatever, but don’t hurt Papyrus.”

“I promise I won’t hurt either of you.”

Sans doesn’t believe it, but… He’s willing to take the risk. He’ll accept any punishment this ‘Grillby’ has to offer if it provides Papyrus a full meal.

Papyrus looks up at Sans expectantly, and with a silent nod he responses. Almost immediately the younger skeleton digs into his food with an eagerness Grillby has never before seen, completely ignoring the utensils set out for him.

Between bites Papyrus manages to say, “THANK YOU AGAIN! THESE NOODLE THINGS ARE SO YUMMY!”

Grillby offers a small chuckle at the skeletons enthusiasm before turning to the other. Sans, while also using his hands, eats slowly and deliberately, as if savoring each bite like it is his last.

Papyrus finishes his dish in record time, leaving Grillby wondering the last time he had a decent meal was. He decides not to entertain that thought.

Sans has only had about one fourth of his plate, but he turns to Papyrus once he realized the young skeleton finished his own. “here, you can have the rest.” 

Of course, this was probably the best thing Sans had ever tasted, and that’s not exaggerating, but Papyrus should have the rest. 

Gratefully, Papyrus takes the plate, still concerned by his brother’s actions, but used to them enough by now to know that Sans won’t take no for an answer. Besides! This is the greatest thing Papyrus ever ate! Much better than the rotten crab apples they both had to eat in the pretty place with the shining stones.

“You don’t have to do that, I can make more.” Grillby says, concerned by the older skeletons actions.

Sans doesn’t say anything, and Grillby decides to leave it. They should probably go to sleep soon anyways. It’s late, and who knows how tired both Sans and Papyrus are.

Grillby decides to get a sleeping place set up for both of them, and makes sure to grab extra blankets to warm them up. Speaking of that, he should probably get them some different clothes to change into. 

He digs around in his closet to see if he could find some of his niece's clothes. She used to stay over here a lot when she was little, now coming for only the occasional visit. Ah, how time has past.

He finds two long-sleeved shirts, one orange, one green, both belonging to his niece when she was smaller. The shirts seem a bit too big for the small frames of both skeletons, but it’ll have to do for now. There’s not much other clothes there, and it takes some intensive searching for Grillby to find suitable bottoms. Most of the clothes were either cleared out by his niece, or donated to the city, as overpopulation is becoming quite a problem there.

Turning his thoughts back to the boys, the flame wonders if they came from the city. If so, that would be a far way to travel, but it’s more likely they came from somewhere where two kids without parents would go unnoticed in the current state of the city. He’ll have to ask them about it later, if they do decide to tell him anything of course.

Grillby eventually finds a pair of sweatpants and some shorts, unfortunately, the latter not nearly warm enough for whoever chooses to wear them. Hopefully the fireplace and extra blankets will do justice to whoever it is. He’ll have to buy them more clothing before they set off to wherever they’re going. Even though Grillby has no idea where they will be going, but that’s a problem for tomorrow. Right now, it would probably benefit everyone to get some rest.

Taking the clothes in his arms, Grillby brings the garments back to where he left the boys in the kitchen.

“Sans? Papyrus? I have some clothes for you to change into if you will. They may not fit right, but-” 

The elemental is interrupted by a very enthusiastic Papyrus, “REALLY?! THANK YOU SO MUCH!”

Grillby is a bit perturbed about how happy Papyrus is at the aspect of clothing, but judging by what they were wearing outside, he figures it’s safe to make some assumptions about how their life was before this. Definitely unacceptable. 

He puts the clothing on the table for them to take, and starts to clean up the dishes. “The bathroom is the first door on the left if you want to use it to change.”

Grillby gets to putting the dishes in the sink before he realizes neither boy has moved. He turns to face them, and is greeted by a questioning look from Papyrus, and nothing short of a glare from Sans, who tries to make himself look menacing despite his current state.

“BATH...ROOM…?” Papyrus says, looking like he’s going to say more, but being interrupted by Sans pulling on the sleeve of his wet jacket.

“don’t ask questions.” Sans hisses to Papyrus in a whisper, but loud enough so that Grillby could hear it.

Needless to say, Grillby is upset at the behavior both of them are exhibiting. “No, it’s okay, you can ask whatever you want.” He tries sweetly.

Sans continues to pull on his brother’s sleeve, but the younger takes the plunge and asks Grillby, “WHAT IS A BATHROOM?”

Sans looks frozen in place, scared, and more than upset as Papyrus asks this. Why, Grillby doesn’t know, but it just adds to his list of concerns about what could have happened to these children, especially Sans.

“Well, it’s a place where you bathe and wash up. You could also change in there to allow for some privacy.” Papyrus’ face just grows more confused, so Grillby continues, “You can clean yourself there, and just clean yourself up in general.”

Papyrus seems to finally get a grasp of the concept, but it’s a mystery to why he didn’t know what a bathroom was in the first place.

“OH, THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING, MR. GRILLBY.” He turns to Sans, “SEE, I ASKED HIM A QUESTION. HE DIDN’T GET MAD LIKE YOU SAID HE WOULD.” The older skeleton chooses to not respond.

“Well… I’ll show you the bathroom then.” Grillby decides before he is able to dwell too much on what could have possible happened to these children. Thinking about that is for later, when the brothers are changed into dry clothes and are warm.

Papyrus immediately gets up, eager to see the “bathroom”. Sans follows Papyrus, but slowly, more timidly, and letting out another cough. The horrible sound coming from the skeleton reminds Grillby about getting medicine, which he probably has in the bathroom anyways.

They all go down a small hallway, quickly coming to the bathroom door. Grillby doesn’t really pride himself on his house, more his kitchen of all things, but he doesn’t have it bad. Other monsters with a poor financial situation have it much worse than him. It’s hard to find good, paying work in a world so small.

There’s a sink, and a bathtub with a shower attachment on it as well. Above the sink, a mirror/medicine cabinet.

“OH! SO THIS IS A “BATHROOM”!” Papyrus says enthusiastically, looking in the mirror. He’s a bit too short to completely see his face. He taps on it before questioning, “WHY DO YOU HAVE THIS IN THE BATHROOM?”

Grillby doesn’t really know how to answer that. “You… can look at yourself? And see if you look good or bad.”

“BUT WHY DOES THAT MATTER?”

Grillby can already tell Papyrus is a pure hearted kid.

“Well, sometimes people like to look good, and it makes them feel good presenting themselves well for others to see.”

“I GUESS SO. BUT I DON’T REALLY THINK THAT MATTERS. RIGHT SANS?”

While Grillby and Papyrus were having their conversation, the older brother turned his own face to the mirror, standing on tip-toe to see his whole face. It only repulses him. Weak. Thing. Disappointment. Failed. Hearing his name though, Sans is interrupted from his thoughts.

“yeah.” Sans responds, Papyrus not picking up on the fact that he wasn’t even listening to what they were saying before.

It’s quiet for a moment before Grillby breaks the silence. “How about I help you two get changed?” Normally, he wouldn’t bother helping a seven and eleven year old getting dressed, but they didn’t even know what a bathroom was!

“OK!” Papyrus responds, happy as ever, while Sans opts to stay quiet once again.

“Sans?” Grillby prompts, trying to coax more conversation out of him. The way he’s staying quiet… it just doesn’t seem like a natural thing to do for him.

“ok.” He replies reluctantly, but Grillby notices his hesitance.

“If you don’t want me to, I don’t have to.”

“no, it’s fine.” The skeleton replies, still looking as anxious about it as before, but it’s late and everyone’s tired, so Grillby decides to just drop it for now.

“Did you pick out which clothes each of you is getting? I’m sorry, I didn’t really have much of a selection. It’s my niece’s clothes, but most of the stuff she left here is gone.”

Again, the skeletons look confused, but Papyrus speaks before Grillby could question them again. “SANS SAID HE’LL TAKE THE SHORTS AND THE GREEN SHIRT BEFORE, SO I’LL TAKE THE ORANGE ONE AND THOSE SOFT LOOKING THINGS.” He points to the sweatpants.

“Ok, here, let me help you take off your wet clothes. I’ll dry them tonight so you’ll have something to wear later.”

Papyrus obliges and allows Grillby to take of the clothes for him. First the scarf, then the jacket, then the shirt under the jacket? And another shirt under that? Was Sans really wearing nothing when Papyrus had extra clothes underneath?

Grillby discreetly takes a look at Papyrus’ body before he helps him into his shirt, glady finding that he doesn’t seem nearly as bad off as Sans. Still not the best, obviously malnourished, but not as bad as his brother. Papyrus looks content in his new clothes, and Grillby feels a warmness in his soul from seeing the skeleton so happy.

“THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH, THESE ARE SO, SO, COMFY MR. GRILLBY!”

“You are quite welcome.” He responds, feeling happy at Papyrus’ over enthusiastic behavior. “Sans? Can you come here?”

Sans makes his way over to Grillby, and as the flame takes off the ratty shirt, his mood is immediately soured. He tries to hide it though, as to not upset either brother.

Sans’ whole body looks fragile, something he noticed before, but even more so now. But that’s not what’s really bothering him. There’s wounds, scratches in his bone that look intentional, more so than accidental injuries. And there’s… needle marks? Small holes in his bones, not really noticeable, if not for the sheer amount of them present on his body. It makes him sick.

And Sans notices Grillby staring at his body, his ugly, deformed body. He hates it. It’s a constant reminder of something he’d rather forget. 

Sans is very good at reading expressions, something he can’t say he prides himself on, but takes some satisfaction in how well he’s able to read people. And Grillby’s expression changed when he looked at Sans, in bad way. Not completely obvious, as the elemental tried to hide it, but obvious to Sans. He looked at the skeleton in disgust.

“Here.” Grillby pulls the shirt over Sans, noticing how he seemed to be uncomfortable exposed. 

The flame quickly finishes changing Sans, swapping his torn shorts for his niece’s pair. Sans seems to huddle in on himself after Grillby lets him go.

Grillby turns his attention to the medicine cabinet, and as if on cue, Sans lets out another body shaking cough. It doesn’t sound good.

“Here, i’ll get you some medicine, and then we can go to bed. Alright?”

“m-medicine?” Sans whispers quietly, barely enough for the flame to hear.

“Yes…?” Grillby responds, not understanding how or why the boy seems even more afraid.

Sans however, knows exactly what’s going on. This is the payment. This is the payment for giving them clothes and a place to stay the night. He knew it would come eventually, but just so… soon. He doesn’t know if he could handle it right now.

“please... no…” He begs quietly, knowing well that begging never does anything, but it’s worth a shot.

“What?” Grillby asks confused.

“don’t make me take it. please.” He begs once again, but quickly has another thought. “don’t hurt Papyrus! i’ll take it later! just- i-i can’t do it now. p-please... i-i…” He starts shaking, tears starting to fall from his eyes.

Grillby recovers from his shock at what just happened, and tries to reassure Sans. “You don’t have to take it.” He says, the only option right now to calm the skeleton down.

Sans definitely should take the medicine. He’s sick, very sick, and tired. Grillby can tell just by looking at him that he’s had sleepless nights. But he seems so against it, something must have happened to him. Thinking back to the needle marks, something bad happened. Something much, much worse than he originally thought. He had a sudden urge to protect these children, these kids, from whatever caused them to be left alone in the first place.

“i-i don’t?” 

Sans knows it’s probably another trap to lead him into a false sense of security. But as long as Papyrus is okay, he’ll endure whatever is thrown at him. Tomorrow. Just not today. He’s too exhausted.

“CAN WE GO TO SLEEP NOW, MR. GRILLBY?” Papyrus asks, somehow managing to defuse all the tension in the room.

“Of course, I have an area set up for you.”

He leads the boys into the next room in the hallway, a small living room with a pullout couch. The bed is already made up, it’s where he usually sleeps. His small house doesn’t really have room for a proper bedroom.

“WE’RE SLEEPING HERE?” Grillby nods, and Papyrus nothing short of jumped onto the pullout bed. “IT’S SO COMFORTABLE! SANS, COME CHECK IT OUT!”

The older skeleton obeys his brother and climbs on to bed next to him. “ISN’T IT SO COMFY!”

“yeah, it is bro.” Sans replies, lacking the enthusiasm his brother has about the whole ordeal.

“Well, i’m sure you’re tired, so i’ll let you sleep.” Grillby makes his way over to the fireplace, lighting it with fire magic, “This will probably keep you warm, but let me know if you get cold.”

And with that, he leaves the room.

“SANS THIS IS GREAT! MR. GRILLBY IS SO NICE!”

“yeah.” Sans can’t trust him. “why don’t you go to bed? you’re tired right?” 

“YES…” As if to emphasize his point, Papyrus yawns.

Both brothers get under the covers, and feel warm, not cold, freezing cold, for the first time in a while.

A few moments pass before a sleepy Papyrus mutters, “DO YOU THINK HE’LL LET US STAY?”

“i dunno bro.” Sans replies, soon hearing the deep breathes of his now asleep brother.

Meanwhile, Grillby paces, unable to sleep, unaware that one of the skeletons faces the same problem for different reasons.


	2. Medicine is not something easily given

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohhhhh boyyy...
> 
> hi! it's been a while! i REALLY did not mean for me to not update for so long. i'm so, so, sorry!!!  
> that being said, hopefully the next update will not take like 10 years! i'll try to get this out in better time, but again, this is more of a secondary fic to my main one, permanent smile, and once i finish that, i will try and turn my attention to this one!
> 
> also??? thank you??? for over 100 kudos??? i literally posted one chapter and the amount of support i have already gotten for this story is astounding! thank you!!!

When Grillby enters the room early in the morning, he is surprisingly greeted by the two skeletons facing him. Papyrus looks like he's just woken up, a groggy smile when the flame walked in almost confirms it. Sans on the other hand looks tired as well, but a different kind of tired. Maybe it's Grillby’s own lack of sleep impairing his perception, but it looks like the older skeleton hadn't slept at all either.

“we were, uh, just heading out.” Said skeleton says, breaking the silence.

“AWW, SANS, CAN’T WE STAY A LITTLE LONGER.” Papyrus complains, but to no avail, as it seems his brother has already made up his mind.

“no. we gotta go.” He turns back to Grillby. “uh. thanks?” Sans finishes, sounding unsure of himself.

The older quickly takes the hand of his brother, and hastily pulls him in the direction of the door. Grillby is momentarily shocked, but manages to stop them from leaving by placing his hand on Sans’ shoulder. The flame immediately feels horrible when he sees Sans flinch, looking absolutely petrified at the sudden contact. Grillby tries to ignore that for now, focusing on his main priority: making sure the boys are safe. And that means not letting them leave on their own to go god knows where.

“...You can't leave yet.” Grillby responds after a second of deliberation.

Sans continues to look terrified, even after Grillby removed his hand. He's frozen in his place. His plan was to leave before Grillby had gotten up, as to leave before he had to fulfill his side of the deal. Unfortunately, Grillby had came into the place they were staying right before they had the chance to escape. And he's not letting them leave.

“... It's still snowing.”

Grillby takes a moment to evaluate the children, both who are frozen in place. Well at least Sans is frozen in place, Papyrus is just standing where he is, looking on with a confused expression.

“i uh…” The skeleton now seems completely shocked and unsure of himself, looking almost like a child after they had disobeyed parents rule, but by tenfold.

He lets out a large cough, which is followed by another, and another, and soon he’s not really standing by himself anymore and Papyrus is holding him up to keep him from falling. Grillby wants more than anything to go over and help Sans, but if merely touching him elicited such a reaction, he doesn’t want to accidently frighten him more.

The flame is beginning to regret not giving Sans the medicine last night. He obviously needed something, and from what it seems like, over the counter stuff probably won’t even do the trick now. But again, it was very late, and he figured both the boys wanted to go to bed, him as well. Maybe he’ll ask Sans now?

Said skeleton has barely stopped coughing, still hunched over in Papyrus’ arms, who looks like he’s had to do this many times before. Sans breathes heavily, looking like he’s having a very hard time catching his breath, and Grillby is almost physically holding himself back from comforting the kid.

Once he seems okay though, Grillby starts to say something, but immediately quiets when Sans starts talking. “...w-we should go.”

That’s one hundred percent not happening, but the elemental feels as though saying that out loud would not be a good decision. He instead opts for a “distraction”, to keep the boys from trying to leave right now.

“How about we get you some medicine first?”

Sans freezes, his whole entire body going rigid as he pulls away from his brother. This, this is what he had wanted to avoid, why he tried leaving before ‘Grillby’ got up. He had promised though, he remembers, he had promised last night, and it seems there is no way he is going to be able to avoid it. So instead of fighting back like the primal instinct inside him urges him to do, he gives in.

Unsurprisingly, Grillby is taken aback by Sans’ reaction to his words. He went stock-still, and just walked forward, leaving his brother’s side. It’s completely unnatural, and it’s an understatement to say that Grillby feels a slight unease. He almost feels like he’s taken advantage of Sans in someway, by doing whatever he did, and he feels guilty.

“ok.” Sans says quietly, and Grillby is beginning to doubt if Sans actually knows his true motivations; that he is trying to help Sans, and not hurt him.

Although he feels bad, the elemental figures that this is for the best, especially since he doesn’t think Sans would be very open to seeing an actual doctor.

“Papyrus, would you like to come with us?” He asks, noticing Papyrus just kind of standing in the middle of the room by himself now.

“NO… IT’S OKAY.” He says, sounding very suspicious, although Grilly isn’t sure why.

Besides, Grillby is confident that Papyrus won’t try and leave, as no doubt that was Sans’ idea. Hell, without Papyrus speaking up and saying something, he doubt these boys would have had a warm place to stay the night. He doubts they would have  _ survived _ the night.

In any case though, freeing those thoughts from his mind, at least for the moment, he leads Sans into the bathroom. Sans follows, a strangely calculated distance between the two as they walk down the hall.

Sans is nervous. Not just nervous, volatile. It’s been so long since… the last time. He doesn’t even know what to expect with this though. At least he knew what to expect before. What if this is even worse?

No. Stop complaining. It can’t be  _ that _ bad. It can’t be bad enough that it wasn’t worth Papyrus getting warm food and a warm place to sleep the night. At least he’s getting something in return for this. With the other-

Oh. He’s in the ‘bathroom’, or whatever this guy had called it. Oh.

Sans isn’t nervous, nope not at all. No way. It’s not like this is a completely different environment then where he usually gets ‘medicine’, that doesn’t freak him out a bit, of course it doesn’t. Why would it. He’s used to this. This is for Papyrus.

“Ok, here we go…” Sans hears the flame murmur to himself, and his whole body fills with dreaded apprehension as Grillby pulls a small tube filled with a purpley redish looking liquid.

So it’s not…? Of course it wouldn’t be. Grillby and him are two different people. But that means he’s actually not ready for this, it could be so, so, so much more worse. He shivers.

Grillby looks at sans in the corner of his eye as he pours out the medicine into a small cup. He had checked how much he was supposed to give a child of Sans’ age, but he supposed that he’s not really in the right weight class for that, even being a skeleton. So, he decided to give him the second smallest dosage, partly because of his small figure, and partly because he doesn’t want to give Sans too much and have him freak out.

Well, freak out more, because said skeleton is shaking, hands grasped firmly around himself. He looks absolutely petrified, and not for the first time, Grillby is oppressed by an intense sadness.

But, again, it will hurt him more to not do anything, and let Sans suffer through the horrible cough of his, at least until he gets some proper medical attention. Or  _ any _ attention for that matter. Speaking of, he should call up the Royal Guard right after he finishes up here, because it was too late and too snowy to call last night. The snow’s pretty much cleared up now, Grillby affirms by quickly looking out a small window in the bathroom. Still coming down, but very lightly.

He turns his attention back to Sans, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible with the medicine cup in his hands. He has no idea what this poor child has went through, and he wants to be as understanding as possible, and not make Sans even more afraid.

“Here.” Grillby says, holding the cup out gingerly for Sans to take.

The skeleton takes it, albeit confused, wondering what this strange fluid is. He gives Grillby a questioning look. “how do i administer this?”

The flame is quite taken aback by the tone Sans has taken on. Just seconds ago… Just seconds ago, he was literally shaking. But now, he seems almost calm? Or no, not calm, Grillby thinks, noting the barely visible slight trembles of the child’s hand as he holds the cup. He’s still scared, extremely so, but he’s trying to hide it? He’s masking his fear now that Grillby has his full attention on him, although the elemental has no idea why.

“You… drink it.”

A brief silence follows.

“...drink it?”

Sans thought this would be another injection, why wasn’t it? Even more surprising though was the fact that he was given whatever this ‘medicine’ is. He’s usually not the supposed to handle stuff like this, let alone administer it to himself. And drink it? He barely suppressed a shudder at the thought. If it’s anything like… well… that seems even more unpleasant than a shot.

Maybe this is why he was never given anything of real value for what he had done back in the labs. Maybe he was… actually nice to Papyrus and him. And all other monsters, people like Grillby, were even worse than he was. The bigger the favor, the worse the punishment. And Grillby had done them a  _ really _ big favor.

But, the flame is looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to take a sip. So, Sans braces himself, hoping Papyrus can get out if need be. His face contorts into a grimace, and in one swift moment he puts the cup up to his face and swallows it down, eye sockets closed tightly.

…

There’s… no effect. Not right away. The only thing is a sort of faux sickenly sweet aftertaste. He waits there for minutes in silence, Grillby looking at him to finally speak. But he’s waiting for whatever horrible effect the medicine had to kick in. Maybe it takes an hour or even longer. Maybe Grillby is still trying to fool him into thinking he’s a “good guy”. But nobody’s good. Nobody’s nice.

Grillby waits for a few more seconds before deciding to prompt Sans himself, as he looks lost in thought. “I know the flavor isn’t the greatest. I never really did like grape, but it’s the only child’s cough medicine I had.” He says, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

That however doesn’t work, as Sans does not seemed to be appeased in the slightest by his words. Grillby has no idea what is going through this child’s mind right now, but he can venture a guess that whatever it is, it’s probably ten times worse than he can imagine.

Seeing that Sans is not going to speak, Grillby decides it’s best that they leave the bathroom and proposes to Sans, “Would you… like to go back to Papyrus now?”

The elemental barely even notices the slight up and down movement of Sans’ head, but he takes it as a yes.

They walk out of the bathroom, well, Grillby walks out of the bathroom, and Sans waits for a few steps before following him.

“...SANS? ARE YOU OKAY?” Papyrus says as soon as he catches sight of them coming back into the room.

Grillby lets out a small sigh of relief. He, of course, didn’t have any real doubts about Papyrus leaving… But he’s still here. And not outside in the cold. Plus, Sans understandably seems more comfortable by his brother’s side, which is good.

Sans retreats back to where Papyrus stands, standing right to the side of him, but looking very intently at Grillby. His eye sockets droop, and although he looks alert, he also looks extremely tired. Maybe trying to convince Sans to take a small nap would be a good idea? It would give him time to call the guards and alert the of the situation, as well as figure out what to do. However, that all depends on whether Sans is going to agree. Probably not, since he seems so adamant on leaving, but it’s worth a shot. That, and the fact that the cough medicine Grillby had given the skeleton usually made kids tired when they took it. If Sans hadn’t slept well last night, at least what he assumes, the kid is probably going to fall over at any second, no matter how vigilant he looks right now.

Papyrus seems to notice the tension in the room, as well as Sans’ drowsiness. Grillby notes that he’s pretty perceptive for a boy of only seven. “SANS! DID YOU EVEN SLEEP LAST NIGHT? THAT’S IMPORTANT! ESPECIALLY SINCE WE HAD SUCH A NICE PLACE TO STAY!”

Sans stays quiet, but Papyrus seems used to him not responding. Grillby just acts as an onlooker to the skeletons conversation, if it could even be called that.

“I KNOW YOU PROBABLY WANTED TO KEEP WATCH LAST NIGHT,” Keep watch? What on earth had they had to ‘keep watch’ for in the past? “BUT YOU NEED TO GET SOME SLEEP.”

Sans looks like he is about to argue back, but instead tries his best to stifle a yawn. “SEE?”

Instead of saying a response out loud, Sans leans in close to Papyrus and whispers something to him that Grillby can’t make out. The younger, thankfully, translates for him. “SANS SAYS HE WANTS TO TALK ALONE WITH ME FOR A MOMENT. WHY HE DIDN’T JUST SAY IT ALOUD, I HAVE NO IDEA.”

“Oh… that’s fine.”

“DON’T WORRY THOUGH, WE WON’T LEAVE IF YOU DON’T THINK WE SHOULD YET!” Papyrus says to Grillby, offering him a big smile.

“...Thank you.” Grillby replies, his worries slightly appeased, but not quite.

Papyrus of course, can be trusted on his own to not leave, as proven previously. But since Sans does seem like the one to take control, he’s not sure if the older will be able to convince Papyrus to leave somehow. And if they leave, where will they go? How will they get to somewhere safe? They didn’t seem keen on interacting with others, at least Sans didn’t, and if they run away now, who’s to say that they’ll ever been seen again?

No, no. Grillby you need to calm down, he mentally scolds himself. Papyrus  _ said _ that they wouldn’t leave, and Grillby needs to trust that. He has no idea why, but as he walks out of the room and leaves the boys to their own devices, he feels like he can just trust Papyrus in that statement. Regardless, that won’t stop him from standing in view of the door to outside, and making sure he can still hear the skeletons in the other room.

The flame decides that this would be a good time to call the guard, and he pulls out a clunky looking cell phone from his pants pocket.

He dials the number for Dogamy, the guard he knows the best out of the whole Snowdin squad. He’s a bit pesky, coming to the flame’s a bar when he should be on duty, but he has a good heart. Him and his wife both, but Grillby knows that they share a phone anyways, so whoever picks up picks up.

The phone rings for a few times before a voice comes across the line, “Hello?” Another voice also comes across, “(Who’s there?)”

“...It’s Grillby.”

“Oh hey Grillby!” Responds a jovial voice. “It’s been a while. Me and Dogaressa are just about to head out for today. What do you need? And by the way, you’re on speaker phone.”

“...Ah, i’m afraid I didn’t just come to catch up, although it has been a while since we last spoke. I’ve actually come to report…” What actually was he reporting? Child abuse? Missing children? “Well, last night there were these children that came to my house. They looked cold, and I let them inside.” He chooses to exclude most of the details over the phone, not wanting to delve into a long conversation. He’s never been one for talking long. “Long story short, I think you might need to come over here, or at least send someone from the guard. The kids are inside my house right now, and…” He checks around him to make sure Sans or Papyrus can’t hear him, “And they exhibit clear signs of child abuse. It looks… really bad.”

A gasp is heard over the phone, presumably from Dogaressa.

“(When I get my hands on whoever did this-!)” She starts, but is quickly interrupted by Dogamy, “Calm down, dear. We don’t know the specifics of the case yet. We don’t know yet.”

To be fair, Grillby presumes, her reaction is understandable. Child abuse or even neglect are extremely rare cases underground. In fact, the elemental himself has only been alive for one of those cases, and even then, it was more neglectful. The parents had been “busy” and hadn’t had time to properly care for their child, and thankfully the child had been located to a new home. Monsters, unlike humans, are made of kindness and compassion. So, to see only a glimpse of the results of what happened to Sans and Papyrus…

Whatever that  _ thing _ did to them, it deserves to be punished.

“Grillby, you still there?”

“...Yes.”

“Okay, so me and Dogaressa have to go to our post, but we’ll call someone over to your house right away. You said this is very serious looking, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to inform… I think Gerson would be a could person to call. I don’t think he’s on duty right now.” A brief lull in the conversation follows, Grillby barely hearing Dogamy murmur to Dogaressa something like, “He’s in Waterfall right now?” and then turns back to the phone so the flame can clearly hear him. “I think he should be able to come in around twenty minutes.”

“...Thank you.”

“No problem, and again, sorry for not being able to come over. But again, if there is someone who did this running around, I think we should actually do a thorough patrol of the area.”

“Best of luck.” Grillby replies, although he has a feeling they won’t find anyone, at least in Snowdin.

“Thank you, and good luck with the kids, okay?”

“(Make sure you take good care of them! They need it!)”

“Of course, thank you.”

The elemental sighs to himself as he hangs up the phone and shoves it back in his pocket.

“MR. GRILLBY?” Comes a voice, startling the flame as Papyrus comes out from the room, gently closing the door behind him.

“Yes, Papyrus?”

“SANS SAID HE’LL TRY TO SLEEP. I’M NOT SURE IF HE WILL, BUT AT LEAST WE’RE NOT LEAVING! ...NOW, AT LEAST…”

Grillby doesn’t know how to exactly respond to that, seeing as he’s not even sure if the boys will ever be staying another night with him. Once Gerson comes over and they get this all sorted out, who knows where he’ll take the skeletons.

“Would you like to go in the kitchen… I’ll make breakfast.”

Papyrus looks extremely excited at the suggestion, distracting him from his previous thought. “ARE WE GONNA HAVE THOSE NOODLE THINGIES AGAIN!? CAN I HELP MAKE THEM THIS TIME?”

“Well… Usually pasta isn’t made for breakfast” Again, Grillby is astounded by the boys lack of knowledge about basic things. He’s pretty sure, even though Papyrus is young, he should know that pasta isn’t a breakfast food.

The younger skeleton looks dejected. “OH…”

Grillby, however, quickly picks up on it, not to make Papyrus upset. “Well, if you want… You could help me make pancakes?”

“PANCAKES?”

Yes, this is definitely not ignorance because of age. This… It looks like he’s never been exposed to any type of food before. It’s not only concerning, but extremely strange as well.

“It’s like a small fluffy cake like thing? That’s round and you make it in a pan?” Great explanation there, Grillby.

Papyrus only grows more confused at the mention of ‘cake’ and ‘pan’. “Why don’t you just come with me, and i’ll show you how to make it?”

The skeleton perks up at the offer. “WOWIE, REALLY!? I’VE NEVER MADE A CAKE-PAN BEFORE!”

The flame is about to correct him, but Papyrus is already walking ahead of him, almost running into the kitchen. It’s… strange, to say the least. Papyrus has none of the bizarre habits that Sans has shown. It’s almost like they were raised in two different places, then ended up together on the streets somehow. But it seems as though the brothers have a bond that shows they’ve been together their whole lives. And there’s also no doubt in Grillby’s mind that they are brothers. They’re actually the only skeletons Grillby has physically seen in his whole life, truly a rare species. It’s all so abnormal, and he feels as though there’s a lot more to these skeleton’s stories then he’s seen, and he’s barely scraped the surface of the mysteries.

Once they reach the kitchen, Grillby starts taking out the supplies for pancakes, still distracted by his thoughts that he doesn’t hear it when Papyrus speaks to him.

“...What was that?”

“I SAID,” Papyrus fidgets his hands, looking suddenly uncomfortable, “SORRY ABOUT HOW SANS ACTS. HE JUST… LIKE THAT? I REALLY DUNNO, HE’S BEEN LIKE THAT FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. PLEASE DON’T GET MAD AT HIM FOR IT. I KNOW THERE HAS TO BE A REASON FOR IT, BUT I JUST DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS… I CAN’T… REMEMBER WHY…” He struggles in thought for a moment, eventually deciding to drop the subject from his mind. “JUST… IT’S NOT HIS FAULT. PLEASE DON’T GET MAD AT HIM. I DON’T KNOW WHY, BUT HE JUST DOESN’T TRUST YOU. HE DOESN’T GET WHY YOU’RE BEING SO NICE. BUT,” He gives a big smile, “YOU’RE REALLY NICE TO ME! AND TO SANS! AND I’M REALLY GLAD YOU LET US INSIDE!”

“Of course I would.” Grillby replies immediately after Papyrus finishes, “And please, do not think I would ever get mad at your brother. I never will.”

They both begin making the pancakes, well, Grillby mostly. Papyrus looks like he’s never touched a cooking utensil in his life, which is probably true, but he lets him mix the batter. Which… he ends up spilling. But it’s easy to clean that up, and he’d rather have that than Papyrus accidently burning himself on the stove.

So Grillby pours out the batter into the pan, showing Papyrus how to do it, but not actually letting help for now. They’re both sitting in silence as the first pancake cooks, and Papyrus speaks up.

“DO YOU… I MEAN, WILL YOU…” He struggling over his words, “DO YOU THINK WE CAN STAY HERE TONIGHT AGAIN?”

Grillby’s immediate response is yes, of course you can stay, but he really doesn’t know if they are going to.

“...Well, I had called the Royal Guard to let them know that you showed up. In fact, I think one of them should be here soon.”

“... WHAT’S THE ‘ROYAL GUARD’? AND WHY ARE THEY COMING?”

“Um… well…” As simple as you would think the concept would be, Papyrus’ lack of exposure to anything similar to the guard makes it difficult to come up with a response. “The Royal Guard is… a group of people that try to make the underground safe. They make sure no one gets hurt and and those who do bad things are punished.” As for the next part of the question, he has no idea what to say. “They’re coming here because…”

He can’t straight up tell Papyrus that they’re coming because of the clear child abuse case evident. Grillby has no idea how aware Papyrus even is of the situation, seeing as though from what he can tell, the younger skeleton had no distinct signs of maltreatment. Obviously, Papyrus has been through something, although not as severe as Sans had. He’s really not sure how to address this.

Thankfully, though, he’s saved from that conversation as the pancake starts emitting smoke from underneath, and he goes to flip it. Papyrus watches curiously from behind.

Grillby takes a plate and puts the pancake on it. It’s not as badly burnt as hell originally thought, and he’ll take this one for himself. He’ll make Papyrus a nicer one.

“SO THAT’S WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE!” Papyrus says, and Grillby is glad for his short attention span.

Although, it seems as though he’ll have to explain now, because he hears someone knocking at the door.


End file.
